Friendship and Betrayal
by MewBladeXxX
Summary: Yugi, Yami, Jaden, and Yusei have been sent to the future! After all they've been through, after all the hardship, pain, and joy they've experienced together, they are called upon once more to save the world. This time, the stakes are much higher than before. Dueling is no longer than they think it to be, and their lives actually lie on the line. Can they triumph once more?
1. Prologue

**Welcome back, all, to the new and improved version of Friendship and Betrayal! Actually, even though this is the full Prologue, it's only a teaser of what is to come. I've, ah, not finished making all the characters, actually. So, be patient. I've been busy with my End of Grade/Course tests, and my Spanish Exit Exam. But now that they are almost done, I have more time to work! **

**... Ideally, of course. I'm still just as busy as before. But summer is just around the corner, folks! **

**But now that this has finally been written, here's what has changed from the previous version! **

**- Only Yugi, Yami, Jaden, and Yusei are present in this story. I've cut out all the other people, Yuma included. I... I can't really write Yuma all that well, you know? I've never watched the ZeXal series in depth... And it's just not very interesting to me. So, no Yuma. Sorry all you ZeXal fans! **

**- You may notice that, Yugi and Yami have separate bodies! This has a purpose in the future chapters, so don't worry. It's not a mistype! **

**That's all that's shown here, pretty much. A lot of other stuff has changed, but that's all spoilers, at least for now, so I'll let it be. But please, review, and tell me what you like and dislike about the new F and B! Enjoy!**

**- Edit 6/11/13:  
**

**- Added line breaks. **

* * *

**Friendship and Betrayal**

**Prologue**

A tan skinned, black and red haired female walked into a coffee shop, up to the counter to order a bubble tea drink before sitting down at one of the small tables close to the window. Narrowing her blue eyes ever so slightly, she stared out the window, out at the street bustling with cars and people impassively.

The woman, who looked to be no older than twenty, at the very most, nodded curtly to the waitress as her order was bought to her table. She sipped slowly, occasionally stirring at the drink with the large yellow straw that came with it.

After an estimated half hour, she stood abruptly, pushing her chair back none too gently. The other customers looked up curiously, but upon spotting the strange marking at the corner of her eye, they looked away quickly. Pausing to note the quick glances, the woman shook her head and walked out of the shop.

Dressed in casual wear, blue jeans, white boots, and a red long sleeve shirt, she didn't draw much attention as she walked down the street. Breathing in deeply, the acrid smell of car exhaust, dampened by the humid air, stung her nostrils. Looking up at the cloudy grey sky, she guessed that it would only be hours until a storm was upon them. With that in mind, she quickened her pace to wherever she was heading.

* * *

It was a sad moment for all of them.

Tears fell from multicolored sources, purple, blue, brown. Mouths moved to shout, call, say, whisper the same name. And finally, finally! - he looked back to acknowledge the voices.

"You don't have to go... Atem," Yugi said, in a voice stronger than he believed he could have conjured up. Despite the tears on his face, the knot in his throat, his voice was unwavering, filled with false confidence.

Atem, also known as Yami, turned his head ever so slightly. "Perhaps." His voice was curt. "But there is... No more reason... For me to stay. You are strong enough to stand on your own now, Yugi." He licked his lips, turning around fully now. The white light of the ancient past enveloped him, casting a dark shadow on his body.

"... Perhaps," Yugi said at last, mimicking Yami's former words. "However - " The words were cut off, as something rumbled ominously.

Joey looked around. "Did anyone hear that too?" he asked. "Somethin' like... I dunno, rock falling?"

Yugi quickly wiped his eyes with his jacket sleeve, looking up again. "Uh, yeah." Several sets of eyes scoured the walls quickly. None thought to look to the floor.

Another crack sounded. Yami felt something give beneath his feet. He sprang away instinctively, closer to Yugi, and farther from the fault that was quickly spidering across the stone floor.

"Everyone run!" Yami yelled, giving Yugi a slight push. The younger looking teen ran a few paces, stumbled, and fell, a fatal move. Yami, at the entrance with Joey and the others, looked back, a look of terror on his face. He lunged back into the room, to Yugi, just as the entrance sealed itself up.

"Yug!" Joey howled at the entrance of the shrine, horror struck as the stone crumbled down, effectively blocking their way back in. "NO!" He stepped forward a pace, and then hopped back as more rock crumbled dangerously. His gaze slowly turned vacant, stunned. "No," he whispered.

* * *

Time seemed to slow, and the woman stopped abruptly. The person walking behind her bumped into her, growling in irritation. However, with one glance at her equally irritated eyes, they dropped their eyes to the pavement, mumbling an apology, hurrying on.

Casually, she glanced around, bringing her right index finger to her right ear, tapping the ear piece that hooked around it.

"Any situation?" she asked, looking to the sky. It had grown dark in a shockingly short amount of time. She suspected that it would now rain at any moment.

_"Perhaps," _responded a younger sounding female voice. _"Brother has found something - someone, actually. They seem to be brothers, if not twins. On the outskirts. They are... Out." _

The woman nodded, and continued walking. "Investigate." She said, the tone suggesting that the word was a command rather than a request. She took the finger from her ear, and dropped her hand to her side.

* * *

"Whoa..." Jaden whispered reverently, looking around at the dark room, and then the brightly lit stand. The deck replica of Yugi Moto was spread out on top of it, and one card in particular called to Jaden.

"So, Winged K, what did you want to tell me?" Jaden reached over to pick up Winged Kuriboh's card, seeing as it glowed with a white light. It flashed brightly, blinding Jaden.

"Hey! What's with the light show?" Jaden squinted, turning his head away. When he was again able to look, it was in a state unlike dreaming. "So... What's this?"

He looked down on a city, a ruined, yet thriving city. He didn't seem too high above the city, yet he could see everything at once. He stared, awestruck. After a moment, a ghostly apparition of Yubel appeared next to him.

"What's so interesting?" she yawned. "It's merely the future." Yubel smirked. Jaden snapped his head around and stared at his spirit friend.

"This is the future? What happened to it?" Giving one last lingering glance at Yubel, he turned his gaze to the city. Bridges crisscrossed the air, most of them crumbled, very likely unstable structures. The buildings in the center of the city seemed to thrive, standing tall and proud, while the outskirts looked no better than dead.

"The future needs saving, you know," Yubel said, speaking in a conversational tone. "I suppose you were always the heroic type, although you never realized it. This era needs a hero. Maybe more than one."

Jaden narrowed his eyes, lifting his head. "... So, this is the future. It needs saving." The sentence was posed as a statement, and a small grin slowly spread across Jaden's face. "If it involves dueling, I'm totally game."

Yubel laughed, snapping her fingers. "It involves dueling. Just not what you imagine it to be." The dreamlike state disappeared, and suddenly, Jaden felt himself falling.

* * *

The scream came unexpectedly, that was for certain.

The female snapped her head back, for once taken off guard. Something was plummeting out of the sky, and by the screaming voice, it was a person.

She frowned. If nothing was done, this falling-out-of-the-sky person would end up as nothing but a large blood splatter on the ground. Looking around, the civilians seemed equally as shocked. Someone had the sense enough to round up several people and grab a blanket, but she doubted it would slow the guy down enough.

And then, the rain came, hard and heavy. Snarling in annoyance, she turned her gaze back to the fast approaching person. Twenty feet. Then ten feet. With the rain, there was just no way –

Just a few feet before his ultimate death, the rain converged on the person, thrusting him away. His fall was diverted, and he was sent tumbling to the ground.

She hurried over, as did a grey eyed man. Nodding, the two of them walked over to the person. He was masculine, looking of early college age, reasonably fit, and had duel colored hair.

"Well," the woman said conversationally. "Who are you?"

* * *

The Mark was back.

Yusei fell to his knees, gritting his teeth. The Head of the Dragon burned brightly on his forearm, shining through his black jacket. It burned like liquid fire, searing his arm quite painfully.

"What in the world?" Yusei gasped. He pulled back the jacket sleeve, and the Mark glittered back at him, innocently defying the world. "The Mark is supposed to have gone with the Crimson Dragon," he said quietly. The pain was fading to the point where Yusei could stand with a reasonable sense of balance.

He was reaching for his phone, when it rang. Yusei paused, looking at the caller, before picking it up. "Crow. Did you receive it too?"

Crow's voice filtered over the phone. _"Yeah, Yusei. Hurt like hell too. Why?" _

Yusei shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "It's got to mean something though, this mark disappeared, what, a year ago now?"

_"Just about," _Crow mused. _"Listen, I gotta go. But I bet you we'll get calls from the others. Keep sharp Yusei. Later." _The phone went dead as he hung up.

Yusei nodded slowly, setting the phone back down onto the table. The Mark still glowed, although dully now. Looking outside, he decided to head over to his workplace to calm his nerves.

Heading outside, he did a double take, looking at his motorbike with the slightest hint of suspicion. "Hm." He grunted, mounting the bike and pulling on his helmet. "Crimson Dragon, where will you take me now?"

As he started his vehicle, a circle of white light appeared in front of him. Without hesitation, Yusei kicked his motorcycle into drive and surged into the light.

* * *

The woman nodded to the silver eyed man, who had the wrists of the struggling boy in a steel-like grip.

"I never did anything, I swear!" He yelled. "Anyways, who are you? What are you doing to me?" His brown eyes glared without fear, as he lunged forward, trying to pull his hands free. Sighing, the woman drew a knife. His eyes widened.

"Silence," she said crisply, slamming the hilt into the side of the boy's head. He was out like a light. "Take him to the base and get him interrogated. She sighed. "This can't be a coincidence."

Without a word, the man nodded, dragging the boy away with a business like stride. The crowd parted wordlessly.

* * *

Yusei slowed to a stop, having appeared on a deserted road, above what looked like a ruined city. It looked rather familiar, although he had no idea why. He scanned it apprehensively, and suddenly, something clicked.

He knew why it looked so familiar now.

"Crimson Dragon, what are you playing at now? Why did you bring me here?" He frowned, while powering up his bike again. He needed to get down there, and fast.

Turning around, Yusei sped down to the grounded twin of Arc Cradle, the only difference was that it lived while it died.

* * *

Walking up to an insanely large house – a mansion, almost, - the woman wrung her hair out the best she could, her clothes steaming. Within seconds, her hair was damp at worst, and her clothes completely dry. She opened the door to the mansion with a key that she had pulled from her pocket.

"Hey, anyone home?" She shouted, looking up the stairwell. Receiving no response, she shrugged, bringing her index finger up to her ear.

"Is there any response from the twins?" she said, leaving the stairwell behind, and walking into what seemed to be a kitchen.

_"No, not yet," _replied the same female voice from earlier. _"We're working on it, Heather." _The connection broke off.

The woman, Heather, nodded, taking her finger from her ear. "Interesting," she murmured, sitting down at the bar like counter. "Very interesting."

* * *

**Like? Dislike? Let me know by reviewing below! :D But seriously, please do review! I need some feedback! The next chapter won't be out for a while, as explained in the top A/N. So please, bear with me for a while! Review! **


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! It's nice to see you again - and I'm here with another installment of Friendship! Yeah, it's late and all, but I'm busy, point blank. Hang on, let me get some Friendship stuff over with before I explain myself.**

**Okay, so here's the deal. This might be the last chapter for a while, only because I'm working on how the rest of the story will play out. Most of Chapter 2 is written, but after Chapter 2, and perhaps the next two chapters, I think I'll start changing how I will write this story.**

**I'm really fond of stories... That have chapters, like, focused on one topic. Kind of like one-shots grouped into a big chunk of enjoyable fluff and angst. Y'know... That thing? Like... Come Together, written by Kohaku no Hime. It's a good story - go read it, if you like the Doma (Doom) Bikers.**

**I think I might try to write Friendship like this. I seriously think it could work. Each chapter would focus on something different, although it will be in chronological order, of course. By now, I hope you know Yusei/Jaden/Yugi/Yami are in the same place. So, they find out things about Heather, and her mentioned friends, and vice versa. In that sort of style.**

**... Anyways, I've spoiled enough. What do you think? What should I do? What do you guys want to see? **

**... Moving on, the reason why I'm so busy - well, that consists of many things. I run a forum, which takes up a lot of my time, mainly because it's a rather large forum, and I like dedicating time to it, to help it move along smoothly. Not that the PokePlayer guys need it, but hey. Plus, I'm a Beta Reader, and I'm helping a friend work out his YGO story. **

**I hope you forgive me, for all my procrastination. That's also a part of why this is so late. Which, of course, I can only be blamed for for all of this. Anyways, enjoy Chapter 1! I might edit it later, so keep an eye out for that as well. **

**Friendship and Betrayal**

**Chapter 1**

After sitting and thinking for a few minutes, Heather got up. She wanted to see these twins for herself. Something was definitely off, and she needed to know what was off, now. Looking outside, the earlier shower had stopped, something she was grateful for. Stepping out, she locked the door to the house, and jogged away.

* * *

Getting to the outskirts didn't take long. It took about ten minutes if one hurried, and twenty at a walking pace. The outskirts were an ugly place - shattered buildings, and the ground was scorched. Grass never grew here, and everything was grey, black, or brown.

It was here that most of the battles happened. Desolated by many fights, the once thriving outskirts slowly died, and everyone retreated to the much safer center of the city. Heather strode through the blackened streets, occasionally peering into a half broken building. After looking for the eighth time, she found her target.

Crouched in the safety of mostly intact brick structure of a one story house, were the twins and prized children of the Light Destined gang, Jaden Gizmo and Regina Gadget. They were sitting huddled together, apprehensively watching two people that were propped up again the wall. Heather stayed silent for a moment, scanning the two people over.

They both had tri-colored hair that stuck up in odd spikes. Physically they looked almost identical, although she could tell one looked more childish than the other. The childish one might also have been shorter than his... Brother? Twin?

Deciding that they were harmless for the moment, Heather cleared her throat and tapped her foot on the ground. Jaden flinched, as Regina turned around with wide yes, one hand on her necklace. Heather nodded in approval.

"You must always be on alert," she said quietly, as to not wake the brothers. "It would have been smart for one of you to have been on lookout. Remember that next time." Jaden nodded silently, a sullen scowl on his face.

"How'd you find them?" Heather asked, addressing Regina. The younger girl smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood before speaking.

"Well, we were wandering the Outskirts when we saw them." She shifted, going from a cross legged position to a kneeling one, moving closer to the brothers. "This one," she patted the childish looking brother's shoulder gently. "Was already unconscious and was being supported by his brother."

Heather nodded slowly, digesting the information. "At any rate, it would be best if we moved them somewhere." She thought for a moment. Taking them to the base might be dangerous, but Lance was already there. He had taken the boy from earlier – the one who had been falling out of the sky – to the base on her command. Now she wished she hadn't been so quick to speak. Sighing, she bent over the older looking boy.

"Jaden, Regina, pick up the younger looking one. We're taking them back to my apartment." Bending over to pick the older looking one up, she grabbed him under the arms, quickly maneuvering him around until one of his arms was over her shoulder and she was half carrying, half dragging him along. He was a bit heavier than she had first thought, with his lean build.

Looking behind her, Jaden and Regina had a hand on each other's shoulder, with the young boy propped up between them. She'd seen this method before, but it only worked for lightweight or young children, seeing as Jaden and Regina were... Teenagers. She shrugged mentally, before nodding.

"Okay, let's go. Focus on not dropping them, yes?" Heather turned forward, resigning herself to dragging the boy back to her apartment – which was almost all the way across the city, in the most inconvenient place ever. She didn't see Jaden roll his eyes behind her, but she did hear Regina's quiet snicker. She wondered what that was all about.

* * *

"I really need to get a new apartment," Heather muttered, rolling her shoulders. She had put the older boy on the couch, and Jaden and Regina had put his younger brother in the arm chair. "Thanks," she said crisply, giving Jaden and Regina a small smile. "You guys can head home now, and be careful."

Regina beamed. "Okay! I want to know what happened to them tomorrow though." She grinned mischievously, before walking out of Heather's apartment, with Jaden in tow.

Heather was left with the brothers – one sprawled on the couch, one slumped in the chair. Neither looked like they were going to wake for a while yet. She sighed, running a hand through her ponytailed hair, before something suspicious caught her eye.

She hadn't noticed before because she had been preoccupied with the twins, but the younger brother had a small scrape on his cheek. Her interest peaked; she turned and walked over to him, lifting his chin with her left hand. The scrape was hardly noticeable, although it looked like it was cause by a fall, or a quick rough abrasion.

Letting his chin fall back onto his chest – probably an uncomfortable position, but she could care less – she looked at his older sibling. He seemed fine, with no visible injuries. For the first time since she had found Jaden and Regina in the Outskirts, she noticed that the two wore similar clothing. So similar in fact, that it was almost identical.

Heather shrugged, walking down the hall to the bathroom. She flipped the light switch into the on position, reaching out to open the cabinet door. She quickly grabbed what she needed, rubbing alcohol and cotton balls, before closing the door and walking out of the bathroom. She didn't bother turning off the light.

It only took her a few minutes to swab some alcohol over the young boy's scrape. He didn't flinch from the stinging smell or the burning sensation, so Heather just let him be. Walking back to the bathroom to put back her things, and this time turning off the light, she decided to wait until they both woke up before talking to them.

Heather scowled at the thought. She hated waiting around, even for minutely important things.

* * *

Heather sat at her dinner table, looking into the living room through the small doorframe. She had received a warning from Team One, which she had redirected to Valance Aslyn. She had better things to do, than to mess around with one – ONE – Elemental. Riding a motorcyle.

Heather sighed. What was Team One worried about? It was one guy. There could be more lying in wait though, so she knew she couldn't completely relax.

She broke out of her thoughts when one of the males let out a small groan, and shifted, turning over. She got up, approaching the moving teen. He was the older one, and didn't even seem to notice her approach. Rather, he looked around frantically, before spotting his younger brother. He relaxed, and lifted his head. The narrowing of his eyes alerted Heather to his suspicion.

"Well, you were a pain to carry home," Heather said calmly, sitting down on the coffee table. "Irritating a Gang Leader isn't in ones best interest, as you know." She cleared her throat. "So, tell me stranger, what are you and your brother doing here?"

The teen stared at her. "... Come again?"

* * *

**You like? I think this is acceptable, by my standards. I couldn't really figure out a better way to have Yugi/Yami and Heather meet, so yeah. I'll explain more about this in the next chapter, how they get along and stuff. Look forward to that... I dunno when, really.**

**But please, review! Tell me what you want to see for Friendship, if I should try to write this like a serious story, or a bunch of one-shots. I can do that too, and the thought is appealing. Anyways, drop a review, and I'll see you next time! **


End file.
